Assessments 101
by Glenn Stevenson
What assessments do coaches use to understand their clients better, and help their clients understand themselves? What assessments, if any, would you like to use? What do the various assessments measure? What do they cost? How do you get trained or certified in them?
This article is the first in a series by Glenn Stevenson, which we call Assessments 101. Glenn researched a dozen assessments to provide information on them to the coaches of the ICF Orange County Chapter. Insights will present a different “assessment of the month” over the next year.
We will be digging into the following assessments: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DiSC, Keirsey Temperament Sorter II, Enneagram, Birkman Method, Personal Style Indicator, Peoplemap, Real Colors, MAPP, OSI Polaris 360, Cerny Smith Adjustment Index, and Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. So stay tuned!
This month, we will begin with the most widely referenced personal assessment available, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). So here we go!
Assessment: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Description: Created by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs in the late 1940s, their intention for the MBTI was to help people understand that there are different personality types and thereby promote world peace. The MBTI has been used extensively to help people understand themselves as well as others.
The MBTI identifies basic preferences on four dichotomies of cognitive processes specified or implied in Jung’s theory. It identifies and describes the 16 personality types that result from the interactions of these preferences. Type primarily indicates how one gathers information and how one makes decisions. The dichotomies are:
Favorite world: Does one prefer to focus on the outer world or one’s inner world: Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)
Information: Does one prefer to focus on basic information one takes in or to interpret and add meaning: Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
Decisions: When making decisions, does one prefer to look at logic and consistency or at people and special circumstances: Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
Structure: In dealing with the outside world, does one prefer to get things decided or to stay open to new information and options: Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P).
Certification: Qualification is required to administer the MBTI (or one must hold a bachelor's degree and have completed a course in the interpretation of psychological tests and measurements at an accredited college or university). Qualification training is available from eight organizations across the U.S. The closest organization is:
Interstrength Associates
16152 Beach Blvd., #180
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
800-700-4874
www.interstrength.com
Other organizations occasionally come to S. California to give qualification trainings. For contact information, see Other Info below.
Cost of Training/Certification: 4-day MBTI Qualification Program at Interstrength Associates: $1,595
Cost of Instrument Once Trained:
On-line assessments: $300 set-up fee + $10 per assessment
Paper & pencil assessments: $80 template (reusable) + $2 per assessment
Other Info: The other 7 MBTI qualifying programs are:
American Management Association
1601 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
800-262-9699
customerservice@amanet.org
www.amanet.org
Association for Psychological Type International (APT)
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-840-3870
800-847-9943
www.aptinternational.org
Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT)
2815 NW 13th St., Suite 401
Gainesville, FL 32609
800-777-2278
www.capt.org
Effectiveness Enhancement, Inc., DBA Type Resources
36 Pauline Road
Louisville, KY 40206
800-456-6284
www.type-resources.com
Otto Kroeger Associates (OKA)
Fairfax Crossroads
3605-C Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-591-6284
www.typetalk.com
Qualifying.org, Inc.
250 Executive Park Boulevard, Suite 100
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
336-774-0330
www.qualifying.org
Zeisset Associates
2443 Sewell
Lincoln, NE 68502
402-435-0933
www.zeissetassoc.com
 Glenn Stevenson. Ph.D., is a life coach and career transition coach who specializes in self-confidence, relationships coaching, and helping people find the work that they love. He specializes in people’s sense of self and their finding satisfaction in who they are and what they do. He may be contacted at glenn@myselfsense.com, 714-468-9963, www.myselfsense.com
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